ALLEN PARK -- The Dallas Cowboys had long been interested in cornerback Chris Greenwood.

Dallas was the first to work out Greenwood leading up to the 2012 NFL draft and kept close tabs on him even after he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round.

It came as no surprise the Cowboys snatched Greenwood off the Lions' practice squad earlier this year.

"We liked him coming out of school," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in a conference call with Detroit media. "We kind of tracked him as he entered the NFL, just to see where he was. We had an opportunity to pick him up and were excited about doing that."

But mounting injuries created holes on the Cowboys' roster and the team was forced to release Greenwood after just three weeks to address those pressing needs.

The decision was a difficult one, according to Garrett.

"As you know, we've had a lot of different injuries that we've had to absorb, and sometimes you can't use a roster spot on a developing player like we were trying to do because we were trying to address some needs in a more immediate time frame.

"We certainly like him a lot and we made that move. It's unfortunate that we lost him because it felt like he was getting better and better."

Greenwood cleared waivers and opted to re-sign with Detroit's practice squad over three other offers, including one from the Cowboys. He said Dallas made a strong pitch to retain his services.

"They did, they definitely did, but this is just the decision I made, to come on home," Greenwood said.